The concert was to commemorate Jay-Z’s “retirement”, his departure from this world - only for him to return at a later date with, arguably, more soul. Those on stage are at once preacher, priest, pope and pastor. However, within the black community globally, both are considered icons and the tension between these contradictory personalities, and projected black culture in general, is explored within AmericanGods_250520 through imagery depicting both brilliant control and brilliant chaos.įade to Black, took place at Madison Square Garden, the great modern day cathedral of America. But respect for these two American gods differs wildly Jay-Z is hailed as the role model drug-dealer turned successful billionaire, whilst Kanye is considered a tortured artist who has lost his way. In this scene Jay-Z is recognising Kanye’s capacity, at an early moment in his career, to develop into the idol he has today become. And so, alongside footage of George’s death and subsequent protests, AmericanGods_250520 runs segments of this performance - a counterpoint of talent and skill framed against the rudimentary brutality of a hateful murder.Ī standout moment of the documentary depicts an interaction between Jay-Z and Kanye West, where Jay-Z (whose alternative moniker J-Hova is a play on the word Jehovah - the Hebrew word for God) seems to be proclaiming Kanye as the prodigal son. The concert features a number of guest performances including a seminal contribution by Beyonce whose flare, composure, intelligence and power are a testament to the brilliance of black people. Fade to Black is a relentless show-reel of great American black artists who contributed to both the performance and the formation of Jay-Z’s associated studio album. Alongside Kanye West at the top of American black and popular culture is Jay-Z, whose era defining concert Fade to Black (2003) is canonised in a documentary of the same name. This juxtaposition questions who we as a society cherish as deities. The enduring depiction of the dead within the artwork frames George as God, while his life was ended by a man who saw fit to play God. The cries of “ I am a God” and the image of George’s murder call into question ‘who is omnipotent’? The sequence of music is a reductive, traumatised, trance-like composition filled with screams of frustration, angst and turbulence. Kanye is much maligned for his contrary comments on race and slavery yet no artist better incapsulates the societal and personal conflict of America and Americans - the inferiority and exploitation, their superiority and success. The video artwork pairs footage of George Floyd’s murder with a sequence of music from Kanye West’s Yeezus album. "music and art and culture is escapism, and escapism sometimes is healthy for people to get away from reality",īut when the distinction is blurred these forms of expression have the capacity toĪmericanGods_250520 takes its lead from this cinematic hip-hop culture which viscerally tales the complexity of black history in the pursuit of an alternative future.ĪmericanGods_250520 probes ideas concerned with conflict, permission, power, idols, entertainment and resistance. When describing Public Enemy’s strategy towards producing meaningful work, Chuck D, the band’s frontman, argued that It forces the viewer to empathise with the wearer and their history or position.įight the Power (1988), Public Enemy’s influential resistance anthem and collaboration with Spike Lee, mobilised the power of cinema to give their message maximum reach. Where the cause of death is murder, wearing a t-shirt with the face of the dead is appropriately confrontational - you do not ask for permission from the viewer before putting it before them. In black culture, and hip-hop, it is common for tragic deaths to be memorialised by the printing of commemorative t-shirts that celebrate the life of the departed and memorialise the tragedy of their passing, searing the image of the departed and the circumstance of their death into our collective memory. AmericanGods_250520 is an artwork that immortalises the tragedy of George Floyd by aligning it directly to popular American black culture, specifically the forces of music, film and fashion, while drawing parallels with the Black-British experience - including deaths caused by police abuse of power, illustrated in the film by a roll call of UK victims.
A memorial to the tragedy of George Floyd.